To Be Different
by Black Mary Janes
Summary: Spock has made a mistake, and it hurts a young new nurse. He apologizes. McCoy laughs. Includes an OC, but no romance.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek. I know, shocker.**

**So I have no idea where this idea came from. Literally, it's based off a dream that I found particularly strange. But anyway, it's the first thing I've posted in a while, and I did not review it as much as I normally would have. I just wanted to get this up before I chickened out again. I know Spock is wildly out of character. I apologize. **

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Spock had made a grievous error, and now needed to make amends.

Her letter had been painstakingly polite. She had addressed him as 'Sir' throughout the body, keeping what must have been a deep hurt from penetrating her words. She explained his error clearly and concisely, and had simply asked that he be more considerate in the future. She hadn't asked for an apology, and yet he was driven to extend her one.

_"Your closing remarks do not extend the olive branch of peace that you speak of in your introduction. You do not address the ten thousand humans affected by Franklin's disease. Instead, you address the several billion that live in fear of them, the sick ones. You play into their fantasy that we are all base creatures that spread the disease through any physical contact. This is not true. You spend over three hundred pages discussing the biology of the disease, and never once look at those who are living with it."_

She had signed the letter with her name, Marcella Hale, and her address at the Academy. She was a fourth year nursing student, and had read his paper on the extraordinary disease as part of her final year seminar. It had been intended to show the students the kind of research they could work on while still being aboard an active starship.

Spock was surprised to receive the complaint. The report was still quite new, and he had not know that the Academy was using it in classes. She was outraged, to be sure, but had tried to push it away to get to the real heart of the matter: he had overlooked the victims of Franklin's, and had discredited them. He had made a mistake, and now must fix it.

First, he went to Dr. McCoy. An odd choice, perhaps, but the doctor was known for being abrasive himself, and Spock was sure that if McCoy thought his comments were uncalled for, then they certainly would be.

He showed his colleague the letter from Cadet Hale, and tightened his mouth slightly when the doctor laughed humorlessly.

"You really screwed that one up, didn't you?"

"It appears I have, Doctor." Spock was uncomfortable, something that didn't happen often. "I do not want Cadet Hale to think I was trying to offend those with Franklin's. I would like your advice on how to mend the situation."

McCoy re-read the letter, skipping down to the closing. "Marcella Hale." He muttered to himself, and then walked away. Spock waited for his return, and when the doctor came back, he was scanning through a PADD, still muttering the woman's name. "Found her." He said. "Looks like you're in luck. She's stationed here on the Enterprise. She beams up next month."

"What do you suggest I do, Doctor?" Spock asked. Again, McCoy just laughed.

"You're on your own there." He shrugged, a smile still tugging at his lips. "Beg for mercy, I guess."

That did not sound like a good plan, and yet as the days passed, Spock could not think of a better one. Even the morning of her arrival, he was wondering what to say to her.

Scotty was manning the transporter room, as the large number of fresh faces required a little wrangling. Spock was present, as was Captain Kirk, who seemed beside himself with excitement. Spock barely heard a word he said, though. He was busy waiting for one to be introduced as Marcella Hale.

She finally faded into sight on the transporter pad. Spock knew it was her instantly, and studied her excited expression almost apprehensively. She had a bright smile that extended up to her deep brown eyes, and stepped forward when her name was called and gave both Commander Spock and Captain Kirk a proper salute. She stepped aside and joined the growing group, and that was the last Spock saw of her until his trip to sick bay.

He went specifically to apologize. He hadn't realized the severity of his remarks until he had seen her himself. Now he understood her anger, and his desire to fix it increased tenfold. He entered sick bay with a slight hesitation in his step, and was oddly grateful to find Dr. McCoy first.

The doctor laughed at the sight of him, and simply pointed to the supply room.

"She's in there doing inventory." He said, and continued to laugh. Spock made a note to ask Jim why guilt was such a funny emotion to McCoy.

Spock stopped in the open doorway, face to face with the woman who had been causing him such distress. She was short, her chocolate brown hair clipped to the back of her head to keep from falling in her face as she counted. She straightened when she saw him, but he spoke first.

"Nurse Hale, I have come to answer your letter personally. I wish to apologize for my cruel comments. I did not mean to discriminate against those who have Franklin's Disease, nor imply that they are anything less than human. If there is one thing I am continuing to learn, it is that humans place a great value on equality, and that to treat you or anyone else with this disease any less because of it is an act of malice. I didn't not mean to make such comments, and I assure you that the study is being rewritten to correct the tone, and to include the people who live with the disease as much as the science behind it."

She was smiling again, which Spock took as a good sign. When she spoke, there was no anger or malice in her voice.

"Commander, I am quite humbled that you would come personally to speak with me. I thought you had ignored my letter, and I wouldn't have blamed you if you had." She paused, struggling with her words. "Thank you, sir. I really appreciate that you find us every bit as equal as our less diseased counter-parts." She gently pushed the black plastic frames up her nose, the mark of her condition. The clear lenses showed that her dark eyes were filling with tears. "You know, sir, I heard that glasses were once in style centuries ago. They were normal, until blindness was eradicated. That was when they were demonized. They were dangerous, and the people who wore them were old fashioned and crazy. It wasn't until Franklin's struck that blindness returned, a blindness that couldn't be fought using the methods we already have. Those living with Franklin's disease wear glasses to get through everyday life, and now they are demonized." She stopped, and Spock noticed the flush of color in her cheeks that grew deeper as she got angrier.

"You have been hurt by words before." Spock noted.

"Yes, sir." Hale nodded. "Thank you for coming to see me. You have done more than you think."

Spock was about to respond, but heard Kirk's voice calling him back to the bridge. He nodded once to Nurse Marcella Hale, and strode from the room. He didn't see her beaming, or the way she pushed her glasses up again. McCoy walked over, demanding her inventory list thus far. She showed it to him, and was surprised when he smiled as he handed it back.

"Sir, did he really feel bad?" She asked, taking the PADD from his hands.

"As much as he can feel anything." McCoy grumbled.

"He knows what it feels like, doesn't he?" Hale asked, surprising McCoy. "To be different." The doctor looked at his nurse with a note of interest, nodding slowly.

"Yeah, I suppose he does."


End file.
